Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-03-19
- ns -
ST. PATRICKN BAY.
Lecture Of Father II. ]. van de Ven In
Butte II. T.. March II. 1887.

A ~~S4S WV
no distinct promise heard by this peopl
as there was by Abraham; that the.
should certainly receive an hundredfold il
return for the sacrifice they made. Such i
the glorious spectacle, my dear friends, tt
which your attention is directed to-day. L
is a spectacle worthy of your admiration
nay, it will challenge the admiration o
angels and men unto the end OF time.
Although l may not glory to be Irish o.
of Irish descent, however, 1 like and love
for truth compels me to confess, that his
tory does not contain it's equal in point o
true moral grandeur, and it stands forth
in full view OF the world, an evident lessor
to every man that will read it, as well az
the most potent demonstration that car
be imagined of the truth and divinity o.
our Saviour's teachings. It is an abso'
lutely incontrovertible proof that our holy
religion, the religion of Ireland is from God,
since she a. influence an entire nation to
overlook all worldly and selfish interests
for her sake alone.
Well may the children of Erin glory that
they belong to a nation thus distinguished
above all others! Well may we all glory,
my dear friends, that we are children OF a
Church, whose power over the minds, and
whose sweet influence over the hearts OF
men are the undoubted evidence Of her di.
her divine guidance.
The arch which spans the heavens is not
a surer token Of the overruling power OF
the Most High than is Ireland's constaucy
in the faith a token of Gods providence,
working through the Church for mans
eternal welfare.
Other nations may exult in their mill.
tary glory, their heroic achievements. their
blood-bought ~conquests; they may rejoice
themselves in their present prosperity,
their advancement in commerce, in the
arts, in a word, in their material and So
cial progress. 1t is well. But a word went
out among the nations centuries ago, and
it's sound was heard to the uttermost
bounds OF the universe. And it said:
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but
my words shall not pass away" Shut
your eyes ever go persistently to the fact
III WI III VAuCACO, Y VIC ldCU Ol
a future eternal life and of a dread re-
sponsibility to a higher power for all the
myriad deeds done here on earth; still you
cannot deny that it is better for q man to
save his soul than to gain the whole world,
and that it is better to be true to con-
science and to God and steadfast in the
faith-which alone has a right to our ALE
~giance-than to abound in this worlds
goods; nay, better even than to stand
as u hero in the front ranks of
human enlightenment and progress.
What? Must 1 feel called upon to prove
the excellence OF divine faith, the absolute
necessity of it, for the welfare of the indi-
vidual and of society? Shall 1 be required
to prove the parn.aount. imrn-+a.eo of
.sa-aal interests? Will it Re demanded of
me to offer an apology and a vindication
OF the mystery and economy of the Incar-
nation of the Son of God? Need it to be
demonstrated TO you, at this late day in
the history OF Christianity, that Gods
truth is of infinitely greater worth than all
that the world possesses besides? Why,
dear friends, there are men to-day who,
like Solomon, have tasted all the delights
OF pleasure, who have assembled the pima
Gle OF fame, and taken the first rank in sci
ence, without finding satisfaction therein.
and who are now craving something higher,
something worthier than the ambition oil
immortal soul! And they find it in the
religion, thus proving that there
is nothing on earth that can compare with
the precious pearl of divine truth. You
and | believe. that when Jesus Christ, the
Son OF God, came upon this earth, he came
to speak words OF power to man, and to
establish his faith upon a durable founda- |
tiQn; that the work which He came to &C.
complish was not to set up q loose associa. !
tion OF men, differing in every belief of the
mind, and every object of the hearts love, |
but to make all men of one mind, to unite
one with another, as He and the Father
are one.
That call went out to all the children OF
But among the nations that, at one |
period or another obeyed the summons, a
arge proportion afterward proved unfaith-
ul. and as far as in them lay, tbwarted the
idea. The great Apostolic Churches
'f the East, where now is their glory?
Antioch, where first the followers of Je
us were called Christians; Jerusalem,
which witnessed his daily walk IN her pub
lc places, afford BIT a precarious abode
% his followers to-day. His religion is
rarely permitted to exist there.
The Church OF Asia, which St. Paul es-
a~blished-alas! it's glory has departed!
what shall l say of Alexandria and
,onstantinople-the one the seat of Chris.
learning and philosophy, the other the
ival even OF Rome for imperial and pom
ifcial honors? All! they, too, have
allen away from the Christian religion, 80
hat now scarce a remnant of their people
faithful, and their conquest to
hrist, if ever attempted in the future,
but be a double difficult task, since
hey have proved themselves unworthy of
he heavenly gift by their recreancy and
Consider, on the other hand,
he churches which were added to the fold
t the One Shepherd in the West, and which
for a longer time in the faith. or
ever relapsed again into the unbelief from !
they had been rescued. England, I
nee called the Isle OF Saints, had scarce !
ny regard left for the purity and perfec- l
lon oil the religion of Christ. Her church
brew off the yoke Of Christ in the reign of
ne brutal Henry the Eighth, and has since
cen advancing by degrees, to the utter de- {
even in high places, OF the cardinal e
of Christianity. Germany was I
nee well-nigh lost to the faith, until, BY {
,e mercy of God, through the strenuous t
OF a band of Jealous men. much c
the lost ground was recovered, and wa I
ering minds were confirmed. Italy, Spain I
nd France were spared the curse OF 6
eresy chiefly by the exertions OF their I
vii rulers. L
The land, which was fit for the reception :
Christ's doctrine, without having been =
with the blood of it's martyrs, '
alone, among the nations chung to !
he faith through good report, and through I
report. unfinchingly and undeviating-
:. No brides allured her people, no perse- '
terrified them,- no privations 4
'ull shake their c%onstancy, no bitter hu- '
iliations could shame them into a denial c
!, their religion. Though for upward of d
w cankurioo fhav voro &c q AocE -:<h1~% (